Portable shelf for automobiles

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a portable shelf that is capable of being attached to an interior portion of an automobile for accommodating articles thereon. The portable shelf comprises a receptacle, at least one extending member, and at least one attaching mechanism. The receptacle is capable of accommodating the articles thereon. The at least one extending member is horizontally attached to a portion of the receptacle. Further, the at least one attaching mechanism is coupled to a free end portion of the at least one extending member. Furthermore, the at least one attaching mechanism is capable of being detachably attached to the interior portion of the automobile. Upon detachably attaching the at least one attaching mechanism with the interior portion of the automobile, the portable shelf is being detachably attached to the interior portion of the automobile for accommodating the articles thereon.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The Present invention claims priority under 35 United States Code,Section 119 on the provisional application No. 60/964,212 filed on Aug.10, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to automobile accessories, andmore particularly, to a portable shelf that is capable of being attachedto an interior portion of an automobile for storing articles, such aslaptops, cellular phones and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While traveling in an automobile, a person may require articles, such asfood, wallet, keys, tissue papers, cellular phones, cameras, laptops,movie players for various purposes. Such needful articles areessentially required to be stored at an appropriate place in theautomobile, so that the articles are readily accessible to the personwhenever required, and are properly stored in a place whenever idle.Further, sensitive articles, such as laptops, cell phones are requiredto be carried carefully to avoid damage thereof while traveling.

To store such articles, generally glove compartments are provided in theautomobile, which are preferably configured in a dashboard of theautomobile for accommodating articles therein. Further, additional glovecompartments may be provided between two front seats, and/or two rearseats of the automobile for accommodating articles therein. Such glovecompartments have a variety of limitations, such as limitation of size,which may not be sufficient for accommodating the desired articlestherein. Further, after such glove compartments are fully occupied, aperson tends to use a space above the dashboard for storing sucharticles. Generally, storing the articles in the space above thedashboard may not be safe because the stored articles on the dashboardmay fall due to sudden jerk or sudden braking of the automobile.Moreover, in the automobile there is no provision for facilitating aperson seating therein for writing, reading, eating or using a laptoptherein while travelling.

Accordingly, there exists a need for an arrangement that provides extraspace for safely accommodating various articles, such as cellularphones, cameras, laptops etc., so that the articles may not fall whilesudden jerking or braking of an automobile. Further, there exists a needfor an arrangement within an automobile that is capable of providingeasy accessibility of articles kept thereon, to a person traveling inthe automobile. Furthermore, there further exists a need for anarrangement that allows a person to perform various activities such aseating, reading, writing, and working on a laptop while travelling in anautomobile.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the prior art, thegeneral purpose of the present invention is to provide an arrangementand more specifically, a portable shelf within an automobile that isconfigured to include all advantages of the prior art, and to overcomethe drawbacks inherent therein.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide aportable shelf that is capable of being attached to an interior portionof an automobile for providing extra space for safely accommodatingvarious articles, such as cellular phones, cameras, laptops, and thelike.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable shelfthat is capable of providing easy accessibility of the articlesaccommodated thereon, to a person traveling in an automobile.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable shelfthat allows a person sitting in the automobile, to perform variousactivities, such as eating, reading, writing, and operating laptopsthereon, while travelling.

To achieve the above objects, in an aspect of the present invention, aportable shelf is provided that is capable of being attached to aninterior portion of an automobile for accommodating articles thereon.The portable shelf comprises a receptacle, at least one extendingmember, and at least one attaching mechanism. The receptacle is capableof accommodating the articles. The at least one extending member ishorizontally attached to a portion of the receptacle. Further, the atleast one attaching mechanism is coupled to a free end portion of the atleast one extending member. The at least one attaching mechanism iscapable of being detachably attached to the interior portion of theautomobile. Upon detachably attaching the at least one attachingmechanism with the interior portion of the automobile, the portableshelf is detachably attached to the interior portion of the automobilefor accommodating the articles thereon.

Further, in another aspect of the present invention, a portable shelf isprovided that is capable of being attached to an interior portion of adashboard of an automobile for accommodating articles thereon. Theportable shelf, according to this aspect, comprises a receptacle, atleast one retaining member, at least one attaching mechanism, and atleast one locking member. The receptacle is capable of accommodating thearticles. The at least one retaining member is horizontally attached toa portion of the receptacle. The at least one attaching mechanism iscoupled to a free end portion of the at least one retaining member. Theat least one attaching mechanism is capable of being detachably attachedto the interior portion within the dashboard of the automobile. Further,the at least one locking member is movably disposed on an externalportion of the dashboard. The at least one locking member is capable ofbeing latched with the receptacle at a position as desired by a personfor accommodating the articles thereon, upon extending the receptacleout of the dashboard. Further, upon de-latching the at least one lockingmember from the receptacle, the at least one retaining member retractsthe receptacle within the dashboard of the automobile.

These together with other embodiments of the present invention, alongwith the various features of novelty that characterize the invention,are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forma part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages, and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and thedescriptive matter in which there are illustrated exemplary embodimentsof the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and features of the present invention will become betterunderstood with reference to the following detailed description andclaims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likeelements are identified with like symbols, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a portable shelf, according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the portable shelf of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of at least one attachingmechanism of the portable shelf, according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a portable shelf, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the descriptionof several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For a thorough understanding of the present invention, reference is tobe made to the following detailed description, including the appendedclaims, in connection with the above-described drawings. Although thepresent invention is described in connection with exemplary embodiments,the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specificforms set forth herein. It is understood that various omissions andsubstitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances maysuggest or render expedient, but these are intended to cover theapplication or implementation without departing from the spirit or scopeof the claims of the present invention. Also, it is to be understoodthat the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting.

The term “first”, “second”, “interior”, “exterior” and the like, hereindo not denote any order, elevation or importance, but rather are used todistinguish placement of one element over another, and the terms “a” and“an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denotethe presence of at least one of the referenced item.

The present invention provides a portable shelf that is capable of beingattached to an interior portion of an automobile for accommodatingarticles, such as food, wallets, keys, cellular phones, cameras, alaptop, which may be required for various purposes while traveling. Theportable shelf facilitates a person to perform various activities, suchas reading, writing, eating or using a laptop while traveling in theautomobile.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a portable shelf 100, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. The portableshelf 100 is capable of being attached to an interior portion (notshown) of an automobile (not shown), for accommodating an article ‘X’thereon. Without limiting the scope of the present invention, thearticle ‘X’, in an embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, is a laptop. However,other articles, such as food, wallets, keys, cellular phones, camerasand the like may also be used in other embodiments. The portable shelf100 comprises a receptacle 102, at least one extending memberhorizontally attached to the receptacle 102, and at least one attachingmechanism coupled to a free end portion of the at least one extendingmember. The at least one attaching mechanism is capable of beingdetachably attached to an interior portion of an automobile. In anembodiment, for the purposes of representation, two extending members104 a and 104 b are illustrated, and similarly two attaching mechanisms106 a and 106 b are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

More particularly, the article ‘X’ is accommodated on the receptacle102. Further, the extending members 104 a and 104 b are spaced apart,and horizontally attached to a side portion 102 a of the receptacle 102,at positions 102 b and 102 c. Further, the attaching mechanisms 106 aand 106 b are, respectively, coupled to free end portions 108 a and 108b of the extending members 104 a and 104 b (See FIG. 2). Moreover, theattaching mechanisms 106 a and 106 b are capable of being detachablyattached to the interior portion of the automobile for detachablyattaching the portable shelf 100 to the interior portion of theautomobile.

The receptacle 102 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a rectangular tray likestructure; however, the receptacle 102 may be configured in a variety ofshapes and configurations depending on the requirement. The receptacle102 is capable of accommodating the article ‘X’ thereon, upon attachingthe portable shelf 100 with the interior portion of the automobile. Inone embodiment, the receptacle 102 has a flat surface 110, and avertical peripheral extension 112 disposed at a periphery (not shown) toconfigure the rectangular tray like structure for safely accommodatingthe article ‘X’ thereon. The vertical peripheral extension 112 providesperipheral barrier to the article ‘X’ for safely accommodating thearticle ‘X’ on the flat surface 110 and avoids any slipping of thearticle ‘X’ during travel. In another embodiment, the verticalperipheral extension 112 may be disposed at the periphery of the flatsurface 110 to configure a rectangular tray that is capable of safelyaccommodating a desired article on either surface thereof. According tothis embodiment, the vertical peripheral extension 112 providesperipheral barrier to the desired article accommodated on the eithersurface of the rectangular tray. Further, in one embodiment, thereceptacle 102 may include at least one indentation (not shown). The atleast one indentation is capable of safely accommodating articles, suchas a cup, a glass, and the like.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the receptacle102 may be coated with a non-slippery material. The non-slipperymaterial may be coated to either one or to both flat surfaces thereof.More particularly, in one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, theflat surface 110 of the receptacle 102 is coated with a non-slipperymaterial. The non-slippery material may be a non-slippery rubbermaterial. The coating of the non-slippery material facilitates indeveloping frictional resistance between the flat surface 110 and thearticle ‘X’, thereby providing proper gripping therebetween, andavoiding slipping of the article ‘X’ from the flat surface 110. In anembodiment, the receptacle 102 is about 15 inch in length, and about 15inch in breadth, however, without limiting the scope of the presentinvention, the receptacle 102 may be of any desired length and breadthfor accommodating any desired articles.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the receptacle 102may be made from a material, selected at least from a plastic material,and a metal material. Without limiting the scope of the presentinvention, in a preferred embodiment, the receptacle 102 is made of aheavy duty plastic material. The receptacle 102 configured by the heavyduty plastic material is durable and strong enough to hold any desiredarticles thereon. Further, the extending members 104 a and 104 b mayalso be made from a material, selected at least from a plastic material,and a metal material. Without limiting the scope of the presentinvention, in a preferred embodiment, the extending members 104 a and104 b are made of a heavy duty plastic material. The extending members104 a and 104 b configured by the heavy duty plastic material aredurable and strong enough to provide a rigid support to the receptacle102 for holding any desired articles thereon.

Particularly, in the preferred embodiment, the extending members 104 aand 104 b are, respectively, horizontally attached to the side portion102 a of the receptacle 102, at the positions 102 b and 102 c in ahingable manner. However, in another embodiment, the horizontalattachment may also be obtained by at least one of welding means,adhesive means, riveting means and bolting means. According to thepreferred embodiment, the hingable attachment may be provided byattaching members 114 a and 114 b that, respectively, extend from thepositions 102 b and 102 c. The attaching members 114 a and 114 b are,respectively, coupled with end portions 104 a ₁ and 104 b ₁ of theextending members 104 a and 104 b by means of rivets 115 a and 115 b(see FIG. 2) to configure a hingable attachment therebetween. Moreparticularly, the end portions 104 a ₁ and 104 b ₁ are, respectively,inserted in the attaching members 114 a and 114 b, and further areattached by the rivets 115 a and 115 b. The hingable attachment providesan arcuate movement of the receptacle 102 with respect to the extendingmembers 104 a and 104 b. Further, the hingable attachment facilitates aperson traveling in the automobile to adjust the orientation of thereceptacle 102 according to his/her requirement for accommodating thearticle ‘X’ during use. In an embodiment, the hingable attachment is aself locking hinged attachment for self locking the arcuate movement ofthe receptacle 102 at a desired position. The self locking hingedattachment develops enough frictional resistance at a hinged position ofthe receptacle 102 and the extending members 104 a and 104 b, to lockthe arcuate movement of the receptacle 102 at the position desired bythe person.

Further, the portable shelf 100 includes at least one supporting member,for the purposes of representation two supporting members 116 a and 116b are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The supporting members 116 a and 116b are disposed at a portion of the extending members 104 a and 104 b,respectively. The supporting members 116 a and 116 b are capable ofsupporting the portable shelf 100 on an interior portion, such as adashboard of the automobile. When the portable shelf 100 is detachablyattached to the interior portion of the automobile, the supportingmembers 116 a and 116 b provide a rigid support to the portable shelf100, which in turn facilitates the person to use the article ‘X’ withoutany hindrance while travelling.

Further, in one embodiment the extending members 104 a and 104 b aretelescopically expandable extending members that enable telescopicextension and telescopic contraction for adjusting a desired lengththereof. Telescopic extension and telescopic contraction of theextending members 104 a and 104 b are configured by respective shaftarrangements. More particularly, the extending member 104 a includes afirst hollow shaft member 118 and a second hollow shaft member 120 asshown in FIG. 2. The second hollow shaft member 120 has a diametercomparatively greater than that of the first hollow shaft member 118, toslidably accommodate the first hollow shaft member 118 therein, therebyconfiguring a telescopic arrangement therebetween. Similar to theextending member 104 a, the extending member 104 b includes a firsthollow shaft member 122 and a second hollow shaft member 124 as shown inFIG. 2. The second hollow shaft member 124 similar to the second hollowshaft member 120 has a diameter comparatively greater than that of thefirst hollow shaft member 122, similar to the first hollow shaft member118. The second hollow shaft member 124 slidably accommodates the firsthollow shaft member 122 therein for configuring a telescopic arrangementtherebetween.

The first hollow shaft member 118 of the extending member 104 a, andfirst hollow shaft member 122 of the extending member 104 b may be,respectively, slidably pushed inside the second hollow shaft member 120of the extending member 104 a, and the second hollow shaft member 124 ofthe extending member 104 b, for telescopically contracting the extendingmembers 104 a and 104 b. Similarly, the first hollow shaft member 118may be slidably pulled out from the second hollow shaft member 120, andthe first hollow shaft member 122 may be slidably pulled out from thesecond hollow shaft member 124 for, respectively, telescopicallyexpanding the extending members 104 a and 104 b.

The telescopic arrangement of the extending members 104 a and 104 benables a person for telescopically expanding, and telescopicallycontracting the extending members 104 a and 104 b for adjusting thedesired length thereof. In one embodiment, telescopic expansion of theextending members 104 a and 104 b may vary from 6 inches to 14 inchesdepending upon the requirement. After obtaining the desired length bytelescopically expanding the extending members 104 a and 104 b, theextending members 104 a and 104 b may be locked to retain at the desiredposition, by locking arrangements 126 a and 126 b disposed,respectively, on the extending members 104 a and 104 b.

More particularly, without departing from the scope of the presentinvention, the locking arrangement 126 a may be disposed on the secondhollow shaft member 120 of the extending member 104 a. The lockingarrangement 126 a may be a nut-bolt arrangement having a nut member 126a ₁ and a bolt member 126 a ₂ as shown in FIG. 2. The second hollowshaft member 120 includes a through hole (not shown) that receives thenut member 126 a ₁ therein. Further, the bolt member 126 a ₂ isscrewably engaged with the nut member 126 a ₁. Similar to the extendingmember 104 a, the extending member 104 b also includes a lockingarrangement 126 b that has a nut member 126 b ₁ and a bolt member 126 b₂. Further, the bolt member 126 b ₂ is screwably engaged with the nutmember 126 b ₁.

Further, the bolt member 126 a ₂ on being screwably tightened in the nutmember 126 a ₁ passes through the through hole to touch a portion of thefirst hollow shaft member 118. Similarly, the bolt member 126 b ₂ onbeing screwably tightened in the nut member 126 b ₁ passes through thethrough hole to touch a portion of the first hollow shaft member 118. Ontouching the portions of the first hollow shaft members 118 and 122, thebolt members 126 a ₂ and 126 b ₂, respectively, restricts furthermovement thereof, thereby locking the extending members 104 a and 104 bat the desired length. The locking arrangements 126 a and 126 b asdescribed hereinabove is for the purpose of understanding only, however,it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art to incorporate anyother locking arrangement for locking the telescopic expansion andtelescopic contraction of the extending members 104 a and 104 b at thedesired length thereof, thereby forbidding further contraction andexpansion thereof.

Further, the portable shelf 100 may be attached to the interior portionof the automobile by using the attaching mechanisms 106 a and 106 b thatare, respectively, coupled at the free end portions 108 a and 108 b ofthe extending members 104 a and 104 b. In one embodiment, the attachingmechanisms 106 a and 106 b include suction-cup arrangements andattaching elements. More particularly, the attaching mechanism 106 aincludes an attaching element 128 a and a suction-cup member 130 aattached thereto. Similarly, the attaching mechanism 106 b includes anattaching element 128 b and a suction-cup member 130 b attached thereto.The attaching elements 128 a and 128 b are, respectively, coupled to thefree end portion 108 a of the extending member 104 a by a rivet 132 a,and the free end portion 108 b of the extending member 104 b by a rivet132 b, to configure a hingable coupling therebetween.

The suction-cup members 130 a and 130 b facilitates in attaching theportable shelf 100 to the interior portion of the automobile by pressingthe suction-cup members 130 a and 130 b against the interior portion ofthe automobile. Upon pressing the suction-cup members 130 a and 130 bagainst the interior portion of the automobile, a vacuum is createdtherebetween. The creation of the vacuum establishes the detachableattachment of the portable shelf 100 with the interior portion of theautomobile. Further, the portable shelf 100 may be detached from theinterior portion of the automobile by pulling the portable shelf 100therefrom. Upon pulling the portable shelf 100 the suction-cup members130 a and 130 b also get pulled, thereby detaching the portable shelf100 from the interior portion of the automobile. For facilitatingpushing and pulling of the portable shelf 100, gripping members 134 aand 134 b are, respectively, provided on the extending members 104 a and104 b. A person may hold the portable shelf 100 by gripping the grippingmembers 134 a and 134 b, and may push the portable shelf 100 against theinterior portion of the automobile, to attach the portable shelf 100thereto. Similarly, the person may grip the portable shelf 100 bygripping the gripping members 134 a and 134 b, to pull the portableshelf 100 away from the interior portion of the automobile for detachingthe portable shelf 100 therefrom.

Referring now to FIG. 3, according to another exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention, the attaching mechanisms 106 a and 106 b areshown. According to this embodiment, the attaching mechanisms 106 a and106 b may include hook arrangements. More specifically, in thisembodiment, hook members 136 a and 136 b are, respectively, attached tothe attaching elements 128 a and 128 b by replacing the suction-cupmembers 130 a and 130 b from the attaching mechanisms 106 a and 106 b ofthe aforesaid embodiment to, respectively, configure attachingmechanisms having the hook members 136 a and 136 b. The hook members 136a and 136 b may be hooked to prongs of headrest posts of an automobile'sseat for securing the portable shelf 100 in the automobile. The portableshelf 100, upon being hooked to the prongs of the headrest posts, orupon being attached to the interior portion of the automobile, mayfacilitate the person sitting in the automobile for reading, writing,eating, using a laptop, or storing various articles thereon.

Referring now to FIG. 4 a portable shelf 200, according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. According tothis embodiment of the present invention, the portable shelf 200 iscapable of being attached to an interior portion ‘I’ of a dashboard ‘A’of an automobile (not shown) for accommodating various articles. In thisembodiment, the portable shelf 200 comprises a receptacle 202, at leastone retaining member horizontally attached to the receptacle 202, and atleast one attaching mechanism coupled to a free end portion of the atleast one retaining member. Further, at least one locking member ismovably disposed on an external portion of the dashboard ‘A’ forlatching with the receptacle 202. In an embodiment, for the purposes ofrepresentation, two retaining members 204 a and 204 b, two attachingmechanisms 206 a and 206 b, and one locking member 208 are illustratedin FIG. 4.

The receptacle 202 is similar to the receptacle 102. However, in thisembodiment, the receptacle 202 additionally includes a plurality ofnotches 202 a provided on a bottom surface of the receptacle 202. Thereceptacle 202, similar to the receptacle 102, is capable ofaccommodating the articles on either surface thereof. Further, similarto the extending members 104 a and 104 b, the retaining members 204 aand 204 b of this embodiment, are also spaced apart, and attached to aside portion 202 b of the receptacle 202, at positions 202 c and 202 d.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the retainingmembers 204 a and 204 b may be a spring arrangement (as shown in FIG.4). Furthermore, similar to the attaching mechanisms 106 a and 106 b,the attaching mechanisms 206 a and 206 b are, respectively, coupled tofree end portions 210 a and 210 b of the retaining members 204 a and 204b. Moreover, in one embodiment, the attaching mechanisms 206 a and 206 bare capable of being detachably attached to the interior portion ‘I’ ofthe dashboard ‘A’. The detachable attachments of the retaining members204 a and 204 b with the interior portion ‘I’ of the dashboard ‘A’ maybe provided by riveting members (not shown). Further, in one embodimentof the present invention, the portable shelf 200 may include supportarms (not shown) to support the receptacle 202. The support arm maysupport the receptacle 202 at different positions for accommodating thearticles on the either surface of the receptacle 202.

Further, the locking member 208 is movably disposed on an externalportion of the dashboard ‘A’. The locking member 208 is capable of beinglatched to at least one notch from the plurality of notches 202 a of thereceptacle 202 for holding the receptacle 202 at a desired position.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the locking member208 includes a spring loaded elongated element 212 that extends from aportion of the locking member 208. The spring loaded elongated element212 is capable of being latched to the at least one notch from theplurality of notches 202 a of the receptacle 202 upon extending thereceptacle 202 out of the dashboard ‘A’. The spring loaded elongatedelement 212 upon being latched, holds the receptacle 202 at the desiredposition for accommodating the articles thereon. The desired position ofthe receptacle 202 may be obtained by extending the retaining members204 a and 204 b, upon pulling the receptacle by a handle 214 disposed ona front portion of the receptacle 202. The spring loaded elongatedelement 212 when latched, prevents the receptacle 202 from beingretracted by the retaining members 204 a and 204 b, within the interiorportion ‘I’ of the dashboard ‘A’. Further, whenever desired, thereceptacle 202 may be retracted within the interior portion ‘I’ uponde-latching the spring loaded elongated element 212 manually from the atleast one of the notch of the plurality of notches 202 a of thereceptacle 202.

Portable shelves, such as portable shelves 100 and 200 of the presentinvention provide following advantages. The portable shelves are capableof being attached in an interior portion of an automobile for providingextra space for safely accommodating various articles, such as cellularphones, cameras, laptops etc. Further, the portable shelves provide easyaccessibility of the articles accommodated thereon to a person travelingin the automobile. Furthermore, the portable shelves allow a person toperform various activities, such as eating, reading, writing, andworking on a laptop, while traveling in the automobile. Moreover, theportable shelves prevent the articles from falling therefrom whiletravelling.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the presentinvention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of the invention and its practical application,and thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize theinvention and various embodiments with various modifications as aresuited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that variousomissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated ascircumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such are intended tocover the application or implementation without departing from thespirit or scope of the claims of the present invention.

1. A portable shelf capable of being attached to an interior portion ofan automobile for accommodating articles, the portable shelf comprising:a receptacle for accommodating the articles; at least one extendingmember horizontally attached to a portion of the receptacle; and atleast one attaching mechanism coupled to a free end portion of the atleast one extending member, the at least one attaching mechanism capableof being detachably attached to the interior portion of the automobile,wherein upon detachably attaching the at least one attaching mechanismwith the interior portion of the automobile, the portable shelf isdetachably attached to the interior portion of the automobile foraccommodating the articles thereon.
 2. The portable shelf of claim 1,wherein the at least one extending member is horizontally attached tothe portion of the receptacle in a hingable manner.
 3. The portableshelf of claim 1, wherein the at least one extending member is atelescopically expandable extending member for enabling telescopicexpansion and telescopic contraction to adjust a length thereof.
 4. Theportable shelf of claim 3, further comprising a locking arrangementdisposed on the telescopically expandable extending member, wherein thelocking arrangement is capable of locking the telescopically expandableextending member at the length forbidding further contraction andexpansion thereof.
 5. The portable shelf of claim 1, further comprisingat least one supporting member disposed on a portion of the at least oneextending member for providing support to the portable shelf on adashboard upon detachably attaching the portable shelf to the interiorportion of the automobile.
 6. The portable shelf of claim 1, wherein theat least one attaching mechanism is hingably coupled to the free endportion of the at least one extending member.
 7. The portable shelf ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one attaching mechanism comprises asuction-cup arrangement for detachably attaching the portable shelf tothe interior portion of the automobile.
 8. The portable shelf of claim1, wherein the at least one attaching mechanism comprises a hookarrangement for detachably attaching the portable shelf to the interiorportion of the automobile.
 9. The portable shelf of claim 1, wherein thereceptacle is made from at least one of a plastic and a metal.
 10. Theportable shelf of claim 1, wherein the at least one extending member ismade from at least one of a plastic and a metal.
 11. A portable shelfcapable of being attached to an interior portion of a dashboard of anautomobile for accommodating articles, the portable shelf comprising: areceptacle for accommodating the articles; at least one retaining memberhorizontally attached to a portion of the receptacle; at least oneattaching mechanism coupled to a free end portion of the at least oneretaining member, the at least one attaching mechanism capable of beingdetachably attached to the interior portion of the dashboard; and atleast one locking member movably disposed on an external portion of thedashboard for latching with the receptacle at a position, wherein uponextending the receptacle out of the dashboard, the at least one lockingmember is capable of latching with the receptacle to hold the receptacleat the position for accommodating the articles, and, wherein uponde-latching the at least one locking member from the receptacle, the atleast one retaining member retracts the receptacle within the dashboardof the automobile.
 12. The portable shelf of the claim 11, wherein thereceptacle comprises a plurality of notches, at least one notch of theplurality of the notches is capable of receiving the at least onelocking member for latching with the receptacle to hold the receptacleat the position.
 13. The portable shelf of claim 11, wherein theretaining member is a spring arrangement.
 14. The portable shelf ofclaim 11, wherein the at least one attaching mechanism is a rivetingmember.